It is planned to carry out an investigation of the equilibria and kinetics of reactions of Schiff bases formed from reactions of pyridoxal with alpha amino acids and of pyridoxamine with alpha keto acids. Similar studies will be carried out on pyridoxal phosphate and pyridoxamine phosphate. The reactions of the alpha amino acids and keto acids will be studied as a function of PH and in the presence and absence of catalytic metal ions such as those of aluminum (III), gallium (III), and zinc (II). Recent studies on the rates and mechanisms of vitamin B6-catalyzed exchange of protons bound to the beta carbon atoms of alpha amino acids will be followed up by kinetic measurements of the rates of elimination of electronegative substituents from the gamma positions of these amino acids. It is planned to broaden the limited information in the literature on vitamin B6-catalyzed decarboxylation reactions of alpha aminodicarboxylic acids by studying the equilibria involved and the kinetics of these reactions over a wide range of conditions. Additional vitamin B6-catalyzed reactions to be studied include transamination and racemization of the N-terminal amino acid residues of dipeptides, and the cyclization reactions of kynurenine.